Help with Navy Boat's Brass Locker/Door ID tags

[avigo]

Hey guys. This kind of stuff is right up my ally.

Bought these on a whim not knowing much at all.

I don't have them in hand yet, so these photos are all I have.

They were purchased from a WWII Vet's Estate.

Curious what and where these would have been used.

 

What does the "Cert" on each tag mean?

 

 

[avigo]

Anybody have any ideas?

[Salvage Sailor]

Aloha Avigo,

 

CERT. = Certified space. These are most likely compartment nameplates for a merchant vessel either contracted or requisitioned for US Naval service in WWII. There was a requirement to 'certify' and label the spaces the "Navy Way" to meet the Bureau of Navigation (shipping board) requirements. This was necessary to verify the actual field dimensions of shipboard spaces vice the builder's plans which often did not show modifications over the years after launching. Specifically, the square footage and overall dimensions are used to "Certify" that the vessel can fit through the Suez Canal locks (and probably the Panama Canal too).

 

See item number 14 on page 61 here https://books.google.com/books?id=PKek-_IQCmgC&pg=PA61&lpg=PA61&dq=cert+navy+shipboard+spaces&source=bl&ots=m_QZ1Iqs9Y&sig=Ec6AD-zYDKG9UXpRQvcZ5PD7r1I&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjmlofH2cPLAhUWzWMKHSWDCwAQ6AEIQDAG#v=onepage&q&f=false Measurement of United States Naval Vessels For the Suez Canal

[avigo]

Salvage Sailor,

 

Thanks so much! By far the most information I have gotten on these.

The vast knowledge of the members on this site never ceases to amaze me.